Grassroots Exchange & Education

Education Grantees 2013

Hibakusha Stories
Project Director: Dr. Kathleen Sullivan
$3,000
Youth Arts New York brings one of the most important moments in human history, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, into the classroom through curriculum development, teacher training and workshops in high schools and universities in New York and Oklahoma. Such activities include workshops at the UN for teachers and workshops with Hiroshima survivors in high schools exploring the multiple perspectives of the bombings.

Community Outreach Optimization
Project Director: Toshiharu Saitoh
$2,204
The Japan America Society of Vermont aims to provide educational outreach activities to children of the local community so that they may gain access to Japanese arts, language and culture firsthand. Such activities include pottery, ikebana, origami and Japanese language classes, participation in the local International Festival, and a Japanese speech contest. Through these opportunities, JASV aims to increase educational impact and through hands-on learning experiences and interactive presentations to increase US-Japan understanding.

Ichiro: Japanese Performer from a 400 Year Old Tradition
Project Director: Victoria Hackman
$3,269
Japanese traditional strolling performer, Oikado Ichiro, will conduct a series of six performances aimed specifically at children and teachers. In addition Ichiro will leader post-performance discussions at cultural centers, a middle school and youth centers, emphasizing ancient Japanese performance traditions. These discussions will cover history and tradition of festival performances, costumes and Ichiro’s story.

Teaching Japan: a Face-to-Face seminar, an Online Webinar, and an Online Resource Guide for Secondary School Teachers
Project Director: Peter Gilmartin
$4,928
Primary Source aims tohelp teachers acquire the knowledge and resources to provide opportunities for students to learn about Japanese history. The organization plans to conduct a three-part professional development project for secondary school teachers consisting of 1) a 6-hour in-person seminar on samurai and the culture of medieval Japan, 2) a 1-hour webinar on medieval Japan and medieval Europe, and 3) creation of interactive online resources on medieval Japan.

The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild will offer two art courses, “Manga Madness” and “Elements of Cosplay” as a part of the afterschool Apprenticeship Training Program (ATP). Both classes will focus on engaging and learning about Japanese art and culture and helping students gain experience in different art-making processes such as screen printing, sewing, and graphic design. Classes will help contextualize their studio-arts-based projects within Japanese culture and arts and into learning about Japanese culture.

Project Director: Caroline Horn
$5,000
This program will aim to immerse second and third grade students in Japan and Japanese culture through a 6 to 8 week curriculum unit exploring its history, music and culture. In addition to the classroom lessons, students will attend weekly interactive workshops led by internationally acclaimed masters of varied Japanese arts, including music, painting, calligraphy, haiku, origami and ikebana.

Through the summer day camp held at the Bubolz Nature Preserve, students ages 6-12 will participate in a guided trip to the preserve’s ponds to learn about fish, followed by a presentation and gyotaku workshop led by a professional Japanese artist. Camp participants will use rubber fish and paints to create gyotaku t-shirts. Scholarships will also be provided to underrepresented children to participate in the summer day camps.

Japanese Cultural Center, Tea House & Gardens of Saginaw, Inc. Saginaw, MI
Japan Festival of Saginaw
Project Director: Madison Smith
$1,500
This project will hold a festival that aims to introduce Japanese culture to the local community held on the Japanese garden grounds of the Saginaw Tea House. The festival will include stage performances, Japanese art demonstrations, Japanese children’s games and lectures. Stage will feature performances by local Taiko group, Koto player, Okinawan dance and music group, a kendo club, and a Japanese glee club. Interactive demonstrations will be housed in other tents and will include various Japanese art forms, including shodo, tea ceremony, ikebana, and origami, as well as traditional games geared towards children, such as hanetsuki, fukuwarai, and mamehiroi.